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Fantastic Four (1994 animated series)
| Last Aired = | HistoryText = In the early-to-mid-1990s, Marvel Productions syndicated a new Fantastic Four animated series as part of The Marvel Action Hour. The first half of the hour was an episode of Iron Man; the second half an episode of Fantastic Four. During the first season,Fantastic Four In Animation - A Retrospective Stan Lee was featured speaking before each show about characters in the following episode and what had inspired him to create them. 1st Season The vast majority of episodes in the first season consisted of fairly accurate re-tellings and intelligent re-interpretations of classic 1960s FF comic book stories by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, but the season's cost-effective animation and attempts to add humor through the inclusion of a fussy British landlady for the Fantastic Four were generally met with displeasure by fansFantastic Four In Animation - A RetrospectiveDaredevil In Animation - A Retrospective - to say nothing of then-current FF comic book writer Tom DeFalco, who got in trouble for penning a scene in issue #396 of the series that featured Ant-Man watching and lambasting an episode of the cartoon.The Fantastic Four Comic Book Ridicules The Show 2nd Season Both the Fantastic Four and Iron Man series were radically retooled for the second seasons,Fantastic Four In Animation - A Retrospective sporting new opening sequences, improved animation,Fantastic Four In Animation - A RetrospectiveDaredevil In Animation - A Retrospective and more mature writing (the first season was primarily written by Ron Friedman, while the second season was overseen by Tom TataranowiczTom Tataranowicz Talks Fantastic Four), though noticeably having fewer introductions by Stan Lee, with several of the new shorter intros being used more than once. The Season 2 episodes also drew upon John Byrne’s 1980s run on the Fantastic Four comic, in addition to further Lee and Kirby adventures. The Marvel Action Hour lasted two seasons before being canceled. 3rd Season According to Season 2 supervising producer Tom Tataranowicz, if there had been a third seasonTom Tataranowicz Talks Fantastic Four of Fantastic Four, he would've wanted to go into the whole Sue Storm pregnancy story arc. In Tataranowicz' eyes, this would've given the production crew a chance to do their own take on the Sub-Mariner (who only appeared in Season 1), as he played into the arc in FF issues leading up to and around issue #100. Tataranowicz also wanted to bring Medusa and She-Hulk into the mix as part of the Fantastic Four. Cast * Beau Weaver - Mister Fantastic/Reed Richards,Fantastic Four In Animation - A Retrospective Trapster, Admiral Koh, T'Chaka * Lori Alan - Invisible Woman/Susan Storm RichardsFantastic Four In Animation - A Retrospective * Quinton Flynn - Human Torch/Johnny Storm (Season 2) * Chuck McCann - The Thing/Benjamin J. Grimm * Brian Austin Green - Human Torch/Johnny StormFantastic Four In Animation - A Retrospective (Season 1) * John Vernon - Doctor Doom (first voice) * Neil Ross - Doctor Doom (second voice), Puppet Master, Warlord Krang, Super-Skrull (Season 1) * Simon Templeman - Doctor Doom (third voice) * Pauline Arthur Lomas - Alicia Masters Guest Cast * Edward Albert - Silver Surfer (Season 2) * Gregg Berger - Mole Man * Mary Kay Bergman - Princess Anelle * Jane Carr - Lady Dorma * Rocky Carroll - Triton (1st Time) * Dick Clark - Himself * Jim Cummings - Slasher Curtis, President Bill Clinton, Votan * Keith David - Black Panther * Michael Dorn - Gorgon * Ron Feinberg - Terrax (Season 2) * Ron Friedman - Blastaar * Brad Garrett - Hydro-Man * George Gee - Himself * Dan Gilvezan - Warlord Morrat * Benny Grant - Rick Jones * Richard Grieco - Daniel Ketch/Ghost Rider * Mark Hamill - Kree Sentry, Maximus the Mad, Triton (2nd Time) * Jess Harnell - Impossible Man, Super-Skrull (Season 2) * Jamie Horton - Psycho-Man * Charles Howerton - Klaw * Kathy Ireland - Crystal * Tony Jay - Galactus, Terrax (Season 1) * Green Jelly - Themselves * Clyde Kusatsu - Annihilus, Karnak * Kay E. Kuter - Ego the Living Planet * Joan Lee - Mrs. Lavinia Forbes * Stan Lee - Himself * Kerrigan Mahan - Seeker * Leeza Miller McGee - Nova * Richard McGonagle - Franklin Storm * Katherine Moffat - Commander Lyja * Iona Morris - Medusa * Alan Oppenheimer - Firelord, Uatu * Gary Owens - Himself * Ron Perlman - Bruce Banner/Hulk, Wizard * Riff Regan - Melinda * John Rhys-Davies - Thor * Robert Ridgely - Skrull Emperor * Robin Sachs - Silver Surfer (Season 1) * Bill Smitrovich - Daredevil * Gina Tuttle - Female TV Reporter * James Warwick - Sub-Mariner, Sam Jaggers DVD releases Following the release of the 2005 live-action film, The Walt Disney Company (through Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment) released the series on Region 1 DVD on July 5. The DVD set now featured new introductions by Stan Lee for all 26 episodes (replacing the original introductions, which had been removed for network broadcast). Additionally, pieces of footage from the episodes themselves had also been removed for network broadcast, and it is these cut episodes that comprise the DVD set. The first Region 2 release received only a DVD comprising of the first two episodes and the trilogy of the first appearance of Doctor Doom. The second release, now by Liberation Entertainment, features a double DVD Set with the complete first Season with remastered Video and Audio Footage. Due to Liberation's closure within the U.K, the rights to all Marvel cartoons were brought by the company Lace International, but has since changed again to Clear Vision LTD. Clear Vision LTD will be releasing Season One in two parts. Part one will be released on May 4th 2009 with Part Two released on May 13th 2009. Season Two will also be released in two parts with part one released on June 10th 2009 and part Two released on June 17th 2009 http://www.clearvision.co.uk/sub_group1.cfm?prog_id=370 On April 2009, a DVD Box that collects both Seasons One and Two have been released in European countries with Dutch subtitles under the Liberation Entertainment label. External links * DRG4's Fantastic Four: The Animated Series page * [http://marvel.toonzone.net/fanfourtas/ Marvel Animation Age - Fantastic Four] * International Catalogue of Superheroes * Fantastic Four (1996) - Pazsaz Entertainment Network * Headquarters - A Critical History of the Fantastic Four | Season1_1 = The Origin of the Fantastic Four Part 1 | Season1_2 = The Origin of the Fantastic Four Part 2 | Season1_3 = Now Comes the Sub-Mariner | Season1_4 = Incursion of the Skrulls | Season1_5 = The Silver Surfer and the Coming of Galactus Part 1 | Season1_6 = The Silver Surfer and the Coming of Galactus Part 2 | Season1_7 = Super Skrull | Season1_8 = The Mask of Doom Part 1 | Season1_9 = The Mask of Doom Part 2 | Season1_10 = The Mask of Doom Part 3 | Season1_11 = Mole Man | Season1_12 = Behold the Negative Zone | Season1_13 = The Silver Surfer and the Return of Galactus | Season2_1 = And A Blind Man Shall Lead Them | Season2_2 = The Inhumans Saga Part 1: And the Wind Cries Medusa | Season2_3 = The Inhumans Saga Part 2: The Inhumans Among Us | Season2_4 = The Inhumans Saga Part 3: Beware the Hidden Land | Season2_5 = Worlds Within Worlds | Season2_6 = To Battle the Living Planet | Season2_7 = Prey of the Black Panther | Season2_8 = When Calls Galactus | Season2_9 = Nightmare In Green | Season2_10 = Behold, a Distant Star | Season2_11 = Hopelessly Impossible | Season2_12 = The Sentry Sinister | Season2_13 = Doomsday }}